Special Report: Video Games Atari Headquarters Behind The Scenes 1982

020282 020382 02 04 1982
John Culea and photojournalist Ben Cutshall at the Atari Headquarters.
Space Invaders
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[@delfmeek5481]

at 6:08 and 6:38, that is Howard Scott Warshaw, the legend behind Yars' Revenge, Raiders of the Lost Ark (That's the reason for the bull whip) and E.T.!

[@doctorclu]

Oh yeh, that's right, he did Raiders so that does explain the whip. Nice!!

[@chslaw]

He accepted my friend request on Facebook and seems like a really cool guy.

[@kevinnivek8907]

⁠@@chslawthere is a new interview with him on arcade attack YT channel…. Def recommend! :)

[@toddjbradshaw]

I was born in 1970, so any of these kids could have been me in this broadcast. In 2024, through several decades of game systems come and gone, I recently hooked up my old Atari 2600 to an old Zenith CRT television. I play the old games with a certain joy. I think it's a testimony to that golden age of video games as I sit down and play them today and find them even more rewarding in their fashion. For what they were, and endured themselves to be. Timeless classics. Thanks for posting the video.

[@johnsmith2046]

As a Gen X'er who turned 50 a few months ago, I can't tell you hope important this was to us American boys growing up back then, and even moreso with Nintendo soon after. It cured a lot of boring days! Cheers from northeast Ohio!

[@jakepyrett1715]

Happy belated. 48 here in cincy

[@sinistan1002]

gen x ftw. well some millenials I guess grew up with these too, just younger kids by the late 80's and of course 90's

[@Mrshoujo]

Northeast Ohio 👍

[@Cyb3rCl3ric]

You are spot on. I’m 50 and I agree with you as well. Just one question, Sega or Nintendo? 😅

[@steved2656]

Same. I’m 53. My parents bought the 2600 for me for Christmas in 1981. But getting an NES in 1988 drew me back to video games. lol

[@nathanwildthorn6919]

What an awesome news piece! Video games sure have come a long way. Thank you for this, and for seeing my favorite news8 anchor from back then, John Culea! 😊

[@doctorclu]

I can see why. I like how he interacted with the green screen of the Atari gameplay. That was a lot of fun.

[@redleader7988]

That red unreleased 800 computer looks amazing! That was Howard Scott Warshaw with the whip! Priceless footage.

[@justgavinhere]

Shout out to the photographer for this, Ben Cutshall. He and John were a great combination.

[@AlanMcClelland]

Stellar inside look at Atari and the home system development geniuses behind it. Plus great interviews with kids from the arcades. Very content to see such rarities as 005, Starfighter Command prototype arcade and concept sketches! Love these and keep releasing these great 80s arcade archives!

[@autoneurotic]

I was born in the early 80s but grew up in the afterglow of this era. Great to see footage of it from when it was all happening and fresh. Recently picked up an Atari 2600+ and picked up so many old games. So much fun!

[@RandyWaage]

Such an wonderful look back into the inner workings of Atari. They made a lifetime of love for Atari consoles & games for millions of us Gen Xers. That sit down Star Raiders is amazing! I wonder if that's still in existence somewhere or it should be recreated! The red Atari 800 in the beginning is super cool looking too. Plus, Henry Jenkins talking about the future of gaming & nailing it.

[@Ac22768]

Californian, born and raised. My dad worked for Atari - I remember going to HQ for bring your kid to work day.

[@GregsGameRoom]

Wow, I've heard the stories of Howard cracking his whip, but I never thought I'd see video footage of it!

[@AtariPamMaria]

Thank you, CBS 8 San Diego, for posting this. If you come across any Atari related news segments, it would be great if you could post it.

[@bitsculptor]

This is a blast from the past. It's really amazing that they decided to publish this cool piece of local broadcasting history to KZbin. The footage from inside of Atari was really amazing to see. I'm glad the algorithm was insightful enough to put it in my feed!

[@cbs8sandiego]

It's what we do! Check out our News 8 Throwback playlist for more amazing vintage videos!

[@speedbird737]

watching from the UK - I'm a GenXer :-)

[@frankchiappetta6600]

Thank you for posting this.

[@ultramaximusreviews]

A great look back at video game history

[@RR-xg1cm]

The pinball girl at 10:45 knew what she was talking about. MORE MATCHES!

[@kiniburk]

I spent a lot of quarters on Defender.

[@OriginalGrasshopper]

This was an incredible piece of journalism! I was thrilled to see these interviews with the kids of that time since I recognize myself in so many of them (I was 14 in 1982 when these news segments aired.) Fascinating to see the Atari 2600’s being hand assembled on the assembly line, too! 👾

[@kayheath-gp8sx]

Still have an Atari 800 console, and a shoebox full of game cartridgees

[@datacipher]

The only systems I’ve kept are my 5200 and apple 2e. Both fantastic.

[@sideburn]

Haha I think the cowboy guy is Howard Scott Warshaw

[@IntoTheVerticalBlank]

This is incredible! It captures a perfect moment in the golden age of video games.

[@dino.manzella]

"electronic violence" ?

[@thisisrob8750]

ya that jumped out at me too. haha

[@sideburn]

“Silicone disks” 😆

[@Controllerhead]

What a wonderful look, about a year before the big crash mind you! Fascinating stuff. Thanks!!!

[@officialretroshell]

We love this feature and will add this to our next gaming roundup - thanks for making content like this.

[@Mrshoujo]

Keep finding these news bits! There's one more I hope to see again covering the games noone wants to play.

[@DTM-Books]

Nice cameo by Warshaw.

[@TheOtherDerek]

So many space games

[@kemicon]

Howard Scott Warshaw with a whip and a cowboy hat LOL. Amazing how the company had a deadline based open work schedule in 1982. Also interesting how some of the predictions of the future of video games came true.

[@pedrozatravel]

At least back then they were out of the house socializing

[@Great-Documentaries]

Socializing?

[@pedrozatravel]

@@Great-Documentaries yes, I used to hang out with friends at the arcade and there was things like pinball tournaments. It was better than today where everyone stays indoors.

[@bondgabebond4907]

@@Great-Documentaries Yes, there were girls in the arcades. Boys met girls in person in these arcades. It's kinda like social media but in person. No internet yet, no cellphones yet. It was a better time for everyone. When the internet hit, it was like driving 20mph on the freeway, really slow.

[@darktetsuya]

what a great throwback! the NES was when I was really hooked on videogames, but I do have some memories of the earlier stuff like on the 2600 and some of those early arcade games like Pac-Man and Defender. Still love a lot of these today.

[@dmac7128]

I grew up on these videogames from the early 80's when video arcades were everywhere. The Atari 2600 was my first videogame system and an Atari 800 was my first computer. Based on the games I saw in this video, I would say it was taped sometime in 1982-83 before the great videogame crash. Its interesting to see some of these games when they were still in development (they looked like prototypes for Atari 800 games). They didn't look or sound exactly like what was released to the public.

[@buriedbits6027]

Please bring us more of this archival material.

[@uriituw]

Remember the days when computers had silicon discs and magnetic chips?

[@hitkid2456]

Wow I didn't even catch that at first, sheesh.

[@terrylandess6072]

It's funny to hear how important a single brick 'animation' was then. If one would see the same thing today the brick would likely have 20+ different animations depending on the striking objects speed, direction and other things they would add to that as well. I never imagined it would become eye-bleed death by neon.

[@jeremygalloway1348]

I've never been in real combat...but I really don't think arcades sound like what I'm thinking combat would sound like in my head. Nothing about arcade screams terror and losing friends. No disrespect meant towards our vets...respect

[@BobbyS1981]

I'd like to hazard a guess that the gentleman with the whip at 6:38 is the great @HowardScottWarshaw, the man behind several great Atari games including Yars' Revenge, Raiders of the Lost Ark and E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial. I assume he was researching and working on Raiders which was released in November of 1982.

[@micheleporcu2287]

Miss those years

[@craigwatson9736]

R home ge graduated from a 13" black n white tv with a pong game from Sears to a Atari 2600 !

[@steved2656]

“There’s something new that comes along every three to four generations that challenges the status quo.” He was right. Just 3-4 generations before that was flight and the automobile.

[@chslaw]

I was 14 when this story first ran. I was very into gaming on my Atari and my first PC was an Atari 800. In fact, I am using the newer Atari VCS as a PC right now. 🤣

[@yellowblanka6058]

Crazy that this was broadcast just 3 years before the NES released in the US - makes it easier to understand why the NES was in such demand, so revolutionary at the time.

[@AudioReplica2023]

kinda interesting the expectations from 80s gamers kids. 80s gamers: We want more challenge , more complex ,bring it on 😎 2023 gamers : Shit its way too hard , Idk what to do. Looks like shit 😐

[@Dukenukem155]

Man I was going crazy when I saw a Red Shiny Atari 800 computer on this video, I was like WTF! On 2:43

[@optimusprinceps3526]

" Hi, I'm Stevie Wonder and if I could see, I'd be playing Atari " ~ early 1980's Atari TV commercial and Ad

[@voodootrucker1896]

🚛😆😆 We remember that

[@daveidmarx8296]

Was a BS made up ad.

[@HermaphroGynandro]

Before corruption took hold…

[@craigwatson9736]

Growing up in the 80's the Atari 2600 got an workout

[@roundedrob1483]

Joystick replacement was a must when I was a kid.

[@datacipher]

I still have my 5200 which all my cartridges including galaxian. I never knew Joe Tong was responsible for the wretched sound effects in Galaxian. Too bad bc the graphics and play are fairly good.

[@mehere3013]

ahh itt seems like yesterday

[@HoosierCallin]

I was raised by a pack of wild Ataris

[@Foggen]

Interesting that they don't mention Namco re: Galaxian. Also I enjoyed how the guy in the 3rd segment pronounced "video gAMEs". It's fun how things can be interpreted subtly differently before the standard has fully infiltrated society.

[@jimbochoo3316]

What a great article. I had a hand me down Atari 7800 with lots of games. Sorry, didn't really like them. I don't have fond memories of playing them. The terrible input lag from the controller always drove me nuts. After the NES came out, Atari was history.

[@magesalmanac6424]

Simpler times, but more thought and effort was put into games back then. Most games now are cookie cutter copies.

[@Great-Documentaries]

LOL! FAR more though and effort is put into games now. You are living in a dream world.

[@JP-ux4cd]

This has to be one of the best times to exist in history...lol

[@scragglewaggle4109]

He gets "A's" let him game

[@doctorclu]

Soooo... that "Starfighter" game appears to have been a "Star Raiders" prototype? And in the setup was that a Atari 800 painted green? And the best question, has this "Starfighter" game been ported? Would it work on a Atari 8-bit setup, or was there something special about that game hardware wise?

[@datacipher]

??? It’s not a prototype. It’s Star Raiders. Weird questions. Not sure why you’re so confused.

[@mr.pavone9719]

Remember when TV news would actually do an 11+ minute, in depth story about an important trend or local story? Now you're better off going to KZbin to get anything resembling investigative journalism and even then it's questionable.

[@TheSpatulaCity]

0:55 Is that John Stossel playing in an arcade back in the day? @StosselTV

[@helloitsmehb]

Some of those guy are billionaires now

[@EddieSlabb]

The writer of this sounds so contemptuous of video games

[@TonyPadgett]

The reporter's name was John Coleco? :)

[@jason_v12345]

John Culea

[@jukesters123]

Silicone? disks???really?

[@stevenA44]

I'm just curious as to why this is just now (a month ago actually) being posted.

[@peahix]

It’s part of News 8’s Throwback series- interesting old pieces pulled from their archives, which go back to 1952.

[@rileycross4359]

I made making a video game in history and creator in atari.

[@uriituw]

What?

[@stefanosprokopis6974]

I use to be so,addicted to arcade games. They were like a drug to me. I grew out of it but eventually gotnaddicted to gambling . Slot machines have destroyed my life.

[@MrSmriley]

That reporter really hates video games. Thankfully they didn't cause the fall of civilization as he was suggesting.

[@stanleystriker7065]

Multi-player and co-op games? Yeah right....

[@whiterabbit1632]

They were exploited. In a more soft way...

[@ChairmanHehe]

the editing is hilarious -wish they just showed the stuff instead of all this weird superimosed shit and camera shaking lol

[@FloridaMan69.]

boring games glad I live in the future

[@Great-Documentaries]

If you live in the future, how can you be leaving comments here in the present? Might want to rethink that one.

[@stashthevampede9480]

The past now, woah dude...

[@CastleKnight7]

Thanks to those “boring” games, you can play current games. Standing on the shoulders of giants.

[@tartgreenapple]

You are correct. The games mostly were terrible. But the novelty of playing games on TV was the biggest attraction.

[@uriituw]

You’re a boring game.